For nearly 25 years, “The voice one woke up to”, after-the-jump …….
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After the death of the longtime National Public Radio morning host Bob Edwards, Binkley dedicated a diary to him that was well-received, yet much of which focused on either (a) his ill-advised removal from Morning Edition nearly twenty years ago or (b) numerous readers’ commentary on the network and its subsequent practices. I’ll try to offer instead something of a career retrospective.
For myself: while he was indeed the first voice I heard when my clock radio went off each AM … it was when I woke up in a strange town/city’s hotel room (or on a rental car radio) that his voice signaled familiarity and a sophisticated program … making me feel I wasn’t truly away from home.
Born in 1947 in Louisville, Kentucky, he was an active alumnus of St. Xavier High School and graduated from the University of Louisville (with a master’s degree from American University). His first radio job was across the Ohio River in Indiana (playing Easy Listening music) then was drafted by the Army. He told Terry Gross (on Fresh Air) that he escaped infantry duty by telling the recruiters his radio training would be invaluable overseas … and was stationed in South Korea reading the evening news. Bob added that the Army left him alone (even allowing coverage of the Pentagon Papers) as long as he didn’t discuss Korean news.
After his discharge, he began working for radio station WTOP in Washington, D.C. and then the Mutual Broadcasting system. He was fired in 1972 for his role in union organizing for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) — and the TV star Morgan Fairchild noted on Twitter that she and Edwards served on the board of AFTRA together for many years. He got a job at NPR by … cold-calling, and got a job as a newscaster (announcing the hourly news insert) on the evening flagship program All Things Considered.
Early in his NPR career
As someone who listened to rock-n-roll stations during the 1970’s, I was unaware that he was later promoted to be co-host (with Susan Stamberg) from 1974-1979. They were not exactly an ordered pair in temperament … yet grew into a cohesive unit.
In 1979, NPR envisioned a morning show (to be called Morning Edition) to be its AM bookend to ATC .. and yet the idea almost self-destructed, as NPR reporter Howard Berkes noted that the initial production failed. Bob Edwards told Terry Gross he thought it was unfair to blame the co-hosts they hired and fired — but was relieved that Pete Williams became a standout at NBC (and also Pentagon spokesman) and also that Mary Tillotson became a successful host at CNN.
Bob Edwards was brought-in with just days to spare before the announced Nov 5th, 1979 start date … and stayed for nearly twenty-five years. NPR’s Weekend Edition-Saturday host Scott Simon said, “When NPR was a fledgling enterprise, Bob Edwards made us sound big-league”.
His soothing baritone was considered unflappable (although a WaPo Letter to the Editor noted that he began crying upon the first tower falling on 9-11). He conducted more than 20k interviews over his tenure and was the second-highest rated morning show in the nation (trailing only Rush Limbaugh). He pushed his producers to limit interviews with politicians (too predictable, he said) and seek out more artists, activists and lesser-known newsmakers. The goal, he noted, was to find guests who aren’t just spewing rage or talking points. “This may be a little island of civility and purpose,” he told the Tampa Bay Times in 1999.
I started listening sometime in the 1980’s and upon hearing the 6:30 newscast: never felt the need to hit “mute” even when Reagan or George HW Bush were often the first voice clips one heard. When George W. was president, I did have to hit “mute” (as I couldn’t stand to hear the sound of his phony accent). (During 45’s term, I re-set the timer so that it would miss the newscast, altogther).
His most unique feature was Fridays with Red — an interview with the retired sports broadcaster Walter “Red” Barber, lasting until his death in 1992 at age eighty-four. Barber had initially been asked by the network to do an occasional taped sports commentary (as Frank Deford later did). Barber declined, yet let it be known he’d be open to a recurring live telephone interview from his home in Tallahassee, Florida. Knowing that Edwards had been awarded an honorific Kentucky Colonel designation, Red addressed him as “Colonel Bob”. Often, the conversation veered from actual sporting issues to what flowers were blooming at his home, to his cats — and although Bob often tried to steer it back to sports, he told Terry Gross his listeners loved it …. and who was he to spoil their fun?
The two (actually in the same studio)
As the diary by Binkley noted: the network removed him from his duties as host in 2004, offering instead a “special correspondent” role — that generated 50k worth of letters and e-mails, nearly all from distraught listeners.
I remember at the time there was a WSJ OpEd telling everyone to calm down; that his replacement hosts would bring new life to the show (including “banter”). Even from a pre-Murdoch conservative readership, the Letters to the Editor printed a few days later trashed that idea, asking: why there couldn’t be a news program for grown-ups?
Edwards didn’t last long in that “special” role, finding a new audience as host of The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM, which he held until 2015. Yet all along he remained stoic about his firing, answering when he was asked if he ever listened to the new Morning Edition …. “Every day”.
He and Morning Edition were the recipient of a 1999 Peabody Award ….
… and in 2004 he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was the author of three books: Fridays with Red (from 1993), an ode to Edward R. Murrow (from 2004), and his 2011 memoirs, A Voice in the Box — published by the University of Kentucky Press.
And it was only upon his death on February 10th (from bladder cancer and heart failure at the age of seventy-six) that I learned that he had been married the last dozen years … to an NPR newscaster.
w/wife Windsor Johnston
While it is the signature song of Shirley Horn, I also like this version of Here’s to Life — written by Artie Butler/Phyllis Molinary — as sung by Joe Williams. The lyrics that best describe having a voice one could count on each weekday morning.
Here's to life
May all your storms be weathered
And all that's good get better
Now, on to Top Comments:
Highlighted by PissedGrunty:
In the diary by xaxnar about the emphasis on Russian collaboration with the GOP, made by both David Corn and Josh Marshall — this may be the best comment (made by eyesoars) I’ve read here in weeks.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by Roadie63 about the latest Tommy Tuberville inanity — RamblinDave notes other Senate replacement disasters.
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo.
TOP PHOTOS
February 21st, 2024
(NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library without permissions set to allow others to use it.) |
And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
